The Protector
by jadedbeauty
Summary: Sakura is summoned to enter a tournament in another realm in order to protect the Earth and all of those she loves. With the help of a few friends can she keep the world safe, or will it perish in the hands of others...? And who are these friends she call
1. The Simple Life

Jade: this is my first Card Captor fic, I hope y'all like it....  
  
The alarm clock screeched as Sakura rolled over, face down in her pillow. Kero sat up abruptly and covered his ears as he flew towards the contraption and hit the off button.  
  
"How can she sleep through that?" Kero mumbled softly as he flew down so his lips were parallel to her ear. He took a deep breath and screamed.  
  
"SAKURA WAKE UP OR YOU'LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!!!!!"  
  
Sakura jumped up, smacking Kero with her hand and ran to her closet to fetch her school uniform.  
  
"You could find a nicer way to wake me up you know..." She growled as she began to change out of her pajamas.  
  
"You sleep like the dead Sakura, trust me I have tried many other ways and that is the nicest way to do it..." he hissed.  
  
"Sakura! Breakfast!" Touya's shouted from the kitchen.  
  
"Coming, coming..." Sakura replied. Kero already flew from the room after hearing the mention of breakfast.  
  
Sakura gently brushed her hair after changing into her uniform then grabbed her backpack and dashed downstairs.  
  
"Hey leave some for Sakura why dontcha!" Touya snapped as he watched Kero down a stack of five pancakes.  
  
Sakura slowly took a seat at the table. "Thank you Touya it looks great."  
  
"Your welcome squ....Kero what did I say about leaving some for Sakura!!!" He growled as he smacked Kero with as spatula as the greedy stuffed animal reached for a few of Sakura's pancakes upon her plate.  
  
After a relatively peaceful breakfast Sakura slipped on her skates and waved goodbye to her brother and Kero.  
  
"Have a good day at school." The two males said in unison as she headed out the door.  
  
Along the way Sakura met up with Tomoyo as she skated to school.  
  
"Hey Sakura, how are you?" Her cousin asked as she greeted her with a warm smile.  
  
"I'm fine, how is your morning going?" Sakura replied.  
  
"Mine is great, hey Sakura, when was the last time you talked to Li?"  
  
"About half a year ago....why?" She questioned a bit apprehensively.  
  
"Just curious...did you ever tell him how you felt?"  
  
Sakura sighed as she applied the breaks on her roller blades. "No Tomoyo....I didn't and it's probably better that way. After all he is living in Hong Kong and I am in Japan, you know what they say about long distance love....it doesn't really work. Besides I am sure he found a nice girl...and is already engaged to her or something."  
  
"Did he say that in his email last time?" Her cousin asked as Sakura began to skate once more, Tomoyo walking along side her.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Then stop making up some imaginary glam life for him. The next time you see him you really should tell him how you feel..."  
  
"I guess so, now come on we're gonna be late and I don't want to ruin my attendance and have my senior release revoked. ( which can happen at my school....boo!!!) "  
  
The two hurried to the high school and barely made it inside the classroom when the bell rang.  
  
"How nice of you two to join us..." Mrs. Kurio retorted. "Since you two are already up, you will be the first ones to read your poetry research papers out loud to the class room..."  
  
"I swear she hates us..." Tomoyo whispered beneath her breath. Sakura nodded in agreement as she approached her desk and changed into her normal shoes after she retrieved her paper. She then marched proudly to the front of the class and began to read. After a few moments had passed she looked to her teacher who was simply astounded by her hard work.  
  
"Ummm....thank you....now for Tomoyo..."  
  
Tomoyo slowly rose from her seat and was half way down the aisle when she suddenly froze.  
  
"Tomoyo are you ok?"  
  
The entire classroom then went silent as well. Kids in mid sentence had their mouths open wide. Some were frozen in mid movement another student fell over due to the unbalanced position he was placed in. Sakura jumped out of her seat and tapped the student next to her. Nothing.... not a motion, not a sound, not even a blink. They were all just frozen solid. As if time were standing still.  
  
"What's going on?"! Sakura demanded.  
  
To be continued....  
  
Jade: hahahaha I love cliffhangers they're wonderful aren't they? I'm just kidding I will have the next installment updated by later today or tomorrow. I can't wait. This story is kind of alternate universe and some of the characters are a little out of character. You'll see what I am talking about. I can't wait though, I am very excited about this fic...and yes there is gonna be some Li and Sakura pairings otherwise people would kill me. I love Li and Sakura, they're so cute...Any who until next time. 


	2. United Again

Sakura watched in horror as she saw her the entire classroom fade into nothing but a black void of darkness.  
  
"What's going on!" She shouted as broke into a run, trying to escape the endless black hole she now had entered.  
  
"Do not worry Sakura...all will be answered in good time, just a few more moments of patience please..." A deep male voice replied.  
  
"Clow Reed?" She whispered.  
  
No reply was offered after the question was spoken. Slowly, Sakura sat down, staring off into the dark world when she heard a voice in the distance.  
  
"Is anybody out there? Hello?"  
  
Sakura instantly leapt up. "Touya?" She yelled as she began to dash fourth once more, towards the sound of the distant echo.  
  
"Touya, if that's you keep talking!"  
  
"Sakura, Sakura where are you?" He asked.  
  
' Good the sound of his voice is growing closer...' she thought to herself.  
  
After a few moments Sakura yielded before her brother and panted softly.  
  
"What's going on here squirt? Why are we here?"  
  
"Clow reed summoned me I guess but I don't understand why you're here..." she spoke softly as she gently hugged him. ' At least I am not alone in this creepy place any longer...but why is he here? He has nothing to do with the Sakura Cards...' she pondered silently as she released him.  
  
"What does he want with me? I have nothing to do with those cards or the magic..."  
  
Sakura shrugged and sighed when she heard another voice. "Hello! Can anyone here me?!"  
  
"It's Li!" Sakura yelled as she dashed off in the direction of his voice.  
  
"Sakura come back here..." Touya demanded as he ran after her, not wanting to lose track of her.  
  
"Li, Li! It's me Sakura!"  
  
After a few seconds Li responded as he ran towards the direction of the sound of her voice.  
  
"Sakura?!?!"  
  
The two soon crossed paths and were trailed by Touya. Li's face quickly shifted from passive to annoyance as he glared at her brother.  
  
"Why is he here?"  
  
"Because I summoned him..." Clow Reed replied as he materialized before the trio.  
  
Kero then appeared before all of them.  
  
"Mmmm pudding......hey! Where am I and where is my pudding?!"  
  
"Worry about snacks later Kero..."  
  
"Master Reed..." he whispered and grew silent.  
  
"I'll explain in a moment, we're awaiting one more arrival..."  
  
"Li, how did you get here?" Sakura interrogated.  
  
"I was shopping in China with Meling when all the sudden everyone stopped moving and it became silent. Then everything faded out....it was strange." He replied as he ran his fingers through his messy brown locks of boyish hair.  
  
Yue appeared behind Clow Reed and sighed softly.  
  
"I am here now..." He replied in a stoic overtone.  
  
"Very well then, let's get to it."  
  
"I have summoned you four here in order to protect the Earth from peril, every ten thousand years or so all of the realms unite and host a great tournament of power to distinguish who is the greatest of them all...The winner of this tournament then becomes the ruler of all the realms if they desire the power. In this ten thousandth year the tournament consists of power hungry beings who will stop at nothing to gain dominance of this world and will send it into chaos....Sakura, I have chosen you to defend our Earth, the other three shall serve as her guardians and aid her in the tournament...There are many tag team battles and two on twos..."  
  
Touya sighed softly. "Well I don't know what good I can do in order to help my sister when I have no magic or powerful skills to offer..."  
  
Clow Reed smiled. "I'm getting to that my dear boy, all in good time..."  
  
Clow Reed held out Sakura's card deck. "There you are my dear, you'll be needing these..."  
  
Clow Reed then handed a velvet bag to Yue. "Currency for the tournament, I won't have anyone starve or go without shelter..."  
  
He then approached Touya and placed his hands upon his shoulders. "I shall grant you the power of light and purity...you'll be able to help your sister and her other protectors recover from injuries and you are also now capable of holy magic...I cannot tell you how to use your powers though, unfortunately you must learn that upon your own..."  
  
Touya simply nodded.  
  
"You did lie though Touya, you are able to sense spirits and the unnatural, is that not why you were not surprised when your sister finally told you the truth about the cards and her guardian?"  
  
He slowly nodded.  
  
"Those gifts shall come in handy as well..."  
  
"As for you Li....let me see your sword..."  
  
Li slowly handed Reed his blade and sighed. The sorcerer simply smiled as he closed his eyes and waved his hand over it then laid his eyes upon the boy once more.  
  
"As long as you battle with pure intentions this blade shall hold immense power, the moment you begin to battle with a tainted heart the sword shall fail....I also shall grant you with complete elemental powers, use them wisely...."  
  
"Now then, I believe that is everything, so I shall send you off...until this entire tournament is complete all of the realms remain at a stand still in time...Nobody shall know you ever left will they know that you have come back. Once the tournament is complete time resumes once more...for the better or for the worse..."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Jade: Sorry but I had to set up the story in this chapter...I know it was kinda boring but I promise it will be better in the next chapter...yay Touya is actually gonna be able to help in this fic hurrah! See what I meant when I said that the story was kinda Alternate Universe? I hope y'all like it, please review! 


	3. A Whole New World?

A large white portal appeared before the group and sucked each member within its grasp. Sakura released a powerful scream as she soared through the sea of nothing.  
  
"Touya....Li....Make it stop!"  
  
"It'll be alright Sakura!" Li shouted in reply as he followed behind her quickly, beside her brother.  
  
Yue fought back a chuckle as he muttered quietly to himself. "Humans, they never cease to amaze me."  
  
Kero was tossed about the portal as if he were a rag doll in a child's rough hands. At this time he took the liberty of transforming into his true form.  
  
"There, much better..." He said as he began to fly with more grace and dignity.  
  
"How long do we have to stay in here?" Touya asked as he cringed slightly.  
  
"It won't be long, please be patient." Yue responded. He then pointed to a small black dot.  
  
"That object shall become bigger, we're nearly there..."  
  
After a few moments passed Sakura and Li were the first ones to be violently tossed from the windy portal onto a soft sandy surface; followed by Yue, Toya and Kero.  
  
"Sakura are you alright?" Li asked, his cheeks turning slightly crimson as he looked down to the girl who had landed in his arms.  
  
She hesitated to respond for a moment before she finally sat up.  
  
"Li.....oh sorry, yes I'm fine now. I guess I just became a little dizzy that's all..."  
  
Li quickly turned his head away to hide his burning cheeks from Sakura's eyes.  
  
"Is everyone else ok?" Sakura asked as she stood and looked around. She saw Kero's legs sticking straight up in the sand while Touya was tending to Yue who had apparently broken a wing.  
  
"How do I fix this..." Touya asked softly as he carefully examined Yue's wing.  
  
"Nobody can tell you how to use magic, for with every person it is a different trigger..."  
  
A growl of frustration escaped Touya but he nodded in understanding as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.  
  
Many thoughts and feelings poured through his being before he settled upon one emotion, the emotion he felt for all of his friends and family. Love. His hands began to glow softly with a gentle white aura as the wind slowly began to pick up. Sakura and Li carefully observed him in pure awe.  
  
Yue remained silent as Touya gently pressed his finger tips to his feathers them removed them after a moment. A small grimace of pain escaped Yue's hardened exterior as sensed his bones shifting themselves back into alignment as well as mending any damages. Slowly Touya opened his eyes and looked to the wing, allowing a proud smile to creep upon his lips.  
  
"I'm glad I figured it out this soon..." He stated as he stood. A large yawn then passed. "I'm tired..."  
  
"Get used to it," Yue spoke flatly. "All first time magic users experience some fatigue...you'll get better as you grow more comfortable with your powers."  
  
"Can we get going now?" Kero fussed as he looked over his shoulder to the four stragglers.  
  
"I want to get to the city before the sun sets..."  
  
Only then did the four look ahead to see a large kingdom in the middle of the desert. The world resembled that of the earth with the acceptation of a violet sky with a green sun. The clouds were crimson and the sands were black.  
  
"Alright, let's go..." Sakura said as she drew her windy card.  
  
"No point in wasting out time and strength walking right?" She said with a sly grin as she took out her key.  
  
"Key of the Star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light. Release! Release and dispel! Windy!" ( Yeah I had to look that one up folks I'm not that obsessed!)  
  
Windy broke from her seal and hovered before Sakura.  
  
"Windy, carry my friends and I to the city." She ordered.  
  
The card spirit obliged her and swirled around the group, floating the, through the cool desert.  
  
"I'm glad to see the cards work..." Li said with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah no kidding..." Touya replied nervously. "We'd be doomed from the start if they didn't.  
  
"I don't think Sakura will always need the cards to call upon the powers they possess..." said Kero.  
  
"Really?" everyone questioned as they turned and stared at him.  
  
"I'll explain it eventually...don't worry about it right now though...onto the city!"  
  
(Fast forwarding time a bit...)  
  
Soon they arrived through the gates of the large kingdom, as Windy gently set them down upon the sandy ground.  
  
"Thank you for your hard work Windy...you may return now." Sakura spoke kindly.  
  
Windy began to glow softly before it began to rotate quickly, evolving back into its card for. Sakura gently gripped the pink Star Card and placed it in her deck.  
  
"Alright, now then let's go find a place to settle in ok?"  
  
"Excuse me..." a soft masculine voice said from behind the pack. They all turned to find a half dragon half man standing before them.  
  
"Are you by chance the representatives of the Earth?" He asked as he bowed.  
  
He was truly a unique and handsome specimen. His entire body was covered with pale red scales accept for his neck and face, upon his back were a pair of powerful dragon wings which remained folded at the moment. His face resembled that of a human; soft brown eyes with long raven locks of hair and pointed ears. Sakura couldn't help but blush slightly, which only brought aggravation to Li.  
  
"Umm, y-yes we are the representatives of the Earth, who are you?" Sakura said stumbling over the words uneasily.  
  
"Please forgive me, I am Ryu, a knight to this kingdom. I have been asked by the King to escort you to your sleeping quarters and to tend to any of your personal needs when you are not in battle."  
  
Li gritted his teeth, as did Touya. Yue placed a hand upon each of the men's shoulders and whispered softly "Easy there you two, he won't try anything on your sister or your eye candy. The men of this world are only allowed to marry and court those that are of their own species....he won't try anything with her I promise." Li slowly relaxed, as did Sakura's sister.  
  
"If you all will please follow me, I'll take you to a place where you can rest, eat and freshen up." Ryu said as he began to walk off towards the direction of the palace.  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
Jade: Ok the fighting will begin shortly I promise, give it a chapter or two... 


	4. The Quiet Before the Storm

After half an hour of walking the exhausted crew finally arrived at the palace's front gates. Sakura found herself in awe as did Touya and Li. Kero and Yue simply stood with a stoic expression as Ryu played tour guide, leading them all inside the Kingdom.  
  
"The bath and beds are on the third floor. I am sorry to inform you that you all will share one room, but is rather large and you do have your own beds. The kitchen is open day or night...." Ryu rambled on. Kero's eyes sparked at the mention of an open kitchen. Yue simply shook his head and sighed as he watched his Mistress listening to the fool.  
  
' I would rather watch her salivate over Li than this unworthy fool, ' he pondered bitterly. Kero glanced up at Yue and gave him a rather concerned expression as he watched his gentle face turn to stone. ' Why am I being so protective of her anyway...' he mentally cursed.  
  
"If you'll follow me please I'll show you to your rooms..." Ryu said as he flashed a warm smile to Sakura. Yue felt his hand clamp tightly into a fist, as did Touya's. Li had looked away just in time to miss it. "That playboy..." Touya whispered to Yue. The snow haired man simply nodded. How he yearned to do battle with him. "Excuse me Mr. Ryu...will you be participating in the tournament?" A small smile crossed Ryu's lips as he turned and faced Yue. "Why yes, I will be....and I do believe that we are to meet upon the battle field early on..." He replied as he twitched his tails lightly, allowing it to lightly brush against Sakura's arm. A small blush flashed across her pale cheeks sending Touya, Yue and Li into a fit of rage.  
  
Slowly, Yue marched up to Ryu and stared him down with his hazel eyes. Gradually, he brought his lips near his ear he whispered, "If you touch my Mistress, or make any inappropriate gestures to her once more I shall have to take action..." He then stepped away silently, falling to the back of the bunch. Sakura and the others couldn't help but wonder what Yue had said to Ryu, but he certainly kept his distance from the Mistress of the Cards from then on.  
  
Ryu handed the key to Sakura as he gestured to a double doored room. " This shall be your sleeping quarters Card Mistress, may your stay be pleasant." As he spoke, he shifted his gaze from Sakura over to Touya and Yue, giving them a frigid glare. A fake smile slowly blossomed upon his lips as he forced cheerfulness into his voice. "I wish you all the best of luck upon the battle field."  
  
( Yes...hints of Yue and Sakura...get over it....breathe.... your ok now it wasn't so bad now then we're moving on)  
  
Sakura slowly unlocked the double doored room and gently pushed it open to reveal an enormous bedroom. The room was decorated in the ornately decorated in lush plums and vivid golds, the floor marble swirled with gold and silver. A large french door opened out to a beautiful balcony, which overlooked the city. Each bed had a mattress filled with down feathers as well as their pillows. Their sheets were made of the finest silk while their bedspreads made with velvet. "Wow Sakura gasped as she ran into the room and threw herself face down into one of the beds. Her brother silently followed sitting upon the bed next to hers and sighed.  
  
"IT'S SO COMFY!" She squealed as she rolled over and stared at the ceiling. "I don't think I have ever slept upon a bed this soft!" A small smile crossed everyone's lips, all relieved to see Sakura was taking the situation rather well, and after all she was battling for the safety of all of Earth.  
  
"I'm glad you find it to your liking Mistress because you will be needing all the rest you can get so you will be prepared for the battle tomorrow..." Touya glared at Yue who simply shrugged. "I am just stating the obvious, you all can pretend this is some vacation but don't lose sight of the true objective here. If we don't handle this matter seriously we could very easily lose, and the fate of our world would be in the hands of another..."  
  
"Well thank you for ruining the party...Kero snarled as he sat upon a vacant bed and reverted back to his borrowed form. "You always have a tendency to do that Yue, bringing worry and seriousness....do you think Sakura doesn't know that she is facing some big challenges ahead? You should be supporting her and trying to ease her troubles, but instead you bring them up! What's the matter with you?!" Sakura growled as she looked to the two guardians bicker. "Stop!" The Sun and the Moon both turned to look at their Mistress. "I will not tolerate any members of this team fighting while we are here, we have enough problems to deal with, lets not drag personal ones into the picture as well. Now then, you two better make up right now...." She said coldly. The two guardians quickly apologized to one another with much reluctance.  
  
"Let's go eat..." Touya said softly as he rose from the bed and assisted his sister from the cushy mattress. Li quietly followed the two, leaving Kero and Yue to trail behind. "Are you ill Kero, you didn't bolt at the mention of food...oh and you probably should convert back to your true form." Kero nodded as he evolved into a lion.  
  
Dinner came and went peacefully leaving them stuffed and fatigued. They all journeyed to the public bath house and washed up before heading to bed, resting for the chaotic day which was to follow.  
  
"Sakura wake up...." Touya yelled as he shook his sister violently. She only rolled over. "I said wake up squirt!" He shouted as he picked her up off of the bed and dropped her back onto it, waking her with a start. "What did you do that for !" Her brother simply chuckled at her rage while Yue shook his head. "Don't be so mean to Sakura!" Li shouted. Touya's devious smile only blossomed further. "Oh your next kid...." He said darkly. Li simply gulped.  
  
"Hey we've got mail...." Kero said as he looked at an envelope, which had been slipped beneath their door. Yue slowly opened it and read it out loud. "We are to battle at 11 am, at the Sunset Coliseum. "This shall be a tag team battle so choose your members wisely. Only one substitution shall be allowed or one healix spell." Sakura quirked a brow. "That's all? It doesn't even tell us about the opponent?" Yue shook his head. "We'd better get going you guys..." Li said as he looked at his watch. "It's 10 am right now....and I bet it will take a little while to get there and register....if we have to register that is." Sakura nodded as she and the others headed out of their room and away from the castle, to the Coliseum, which was positioned near the outskirts of town.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Jade: Ah.....I hear the sound of battle in the next chapter...but there was fighting in this chapter. 


End file.
